


True Nature

by Ebony_assassin1



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blood and Violence, F/M, Hunter Exam (Hunter X Hunter), Nen (Hunter X Hunter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23445370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebony_assassin1/pseuds/Ebony_assassin1
Summary: The trees are her bed. The wind offers her secrets. The animals call her friend. The ocean brings her to new horizons.Akarui Chikyu was born in and raised by the forest. Human society isn't new to her, but she still prefered her true home.Akarui wasn't sure why she decided to take the Hunter exam. She wasn't sure of the adventure that would ensue. And she definitely wasn't sure of the danger that it would lead her into.
Relationships: Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter)/Original Character(s), Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)/Original Female Character(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	True Nature

**Author's Note:**

> Tags will be added as they occur in the story. Romances will be added in the corresponding arcs. Reader discretion will be added on corresponding chapters.

This was my first chance. The biggest news everywhere was about the upcoming hunter exams. I just turned seventeen and I decided to turn my crimes into a profession. There were only three things I was good at: drawing, singing, and fighting. I learned early in life that I can’t get far on the first two, so the third was my only option.  
My adventure started in an odd way though. I was on my way to Dolle Harbor, a very plain place, when I was asked an odd question.  
“You want to be a hunter too?” I looked over from my sketch and saw a small boy that looked too innocent for his own good. He was staring at me, clearly awaiting my response.  
“A Hunter? No. I’m on my way to meet a friend. I didn’t even know the Hunter exams were taking place now.”  
“This boat is for people wanting to take the exam though. Everyone who isn’t a sailor is going to attempt the exam.”  
“Well I guess I just won’t tell the captain that I don’t want to take the exam. Can you do the same?” I gave him a small smile and saw a look of confusion spread across his face. The confusion was quickly replaced with happiness.  
“You’ll change your mind. I know it!” His smile was still in place as he walked away before I could ask what he meant. I shook my head and went back to my sketch. A boat at sea with a storm rolling in. Men were running across the deck while a beautiful woman sat in the crow’s nest admiring the sky. She was focused on the clouds and gave little thought to the chaos stirring beneath her. I was working on her hand, outstretched to the sky, when a sudden rocking made my pencil fall from my hand.  
“Damn!” I picked up the pencil and stored it and my sketchbook in my backpack. I walked out onto the deck to find waves crashing onto the deck and people running around trying to stabilize the ship. I ran to where the captain is and saw the room filled with sailors. I was about to ask a question when I was cut off by a guy vomiting next to me.  
“It would be best if you go below deck, little girl. Even hunters have trouble at sea occasionally.” The captain said to me without looking.  
“Is there anything I can do to help?”  
“If you can keep from hurling on deck, that’s help enough. These sailors can’t even manage that it seems.” I laughed to myself. It’s rather pathetic that a “little girl” can manage something these sailors can’t.  
“That I can do. I promise.” I held up a hand to signal my departure. I began to make my way below deck to continue my sketch when I saw sailors all around begin to vomit. I scrunched my nose and shook my head. I’m supposed to put my trust in these guys to get me to shore. I started down the steps and heard a small voice reassuring a groan.  
“Here eat these herbs. They will help with the nausea.” The same boy from earlier was feeding a wannabe hunter some grass.  
“Water.” Was all the guy offered in thanks when another man began to run in with a cup of water.  
“I got it! I got your water!” The kid grabbed the cup and gave it to the man that was only half lucid.  
“Thanks Katzo!” I looked around to see two other people that were relaxing among the dozens that appeared to be wishing for death. It baffled me how nonchalant they looked among all the chaos.  
“So, uh, is there anything I can do to help?” I asked the boy. He turned to me and smiled.  
“Sure! Just start giving these to everyone who looks sick!” He gave me a handful of herbs and turned back to what he was doing.  
I walked to a guy that was in the process of hurling his guts up and gave him the herbs. After almost no questions he devoured them and went back to resting next to the wall.  
***  
I fed the herbs to at least fifty guys, and after an hour the ship seemed to calm a bit. The storm was by no means passed, but the worst was.  
“Thanks for helping! You’d make a really good hunter. You should really consider going through the exam.” I turned to find the kid behind me again. His smile was still in place after all that just occured.  
“I don’t think so, kid. I have other plans.” I began to walk out the door when I ran into the captain. I quickly had to back up and peer up to even see his face.  
"Can I talk to the four of you that didn't completely fall over yourselves above deck?" I looked to the kid, the teen, and the man and back to the captain. My mind began to swirl with panic. Did he know about me not wanting to take the exam? Did he hear the conversation we just had? The others began to make their way to the door and the last one was the kid. I was stuck in my place, nervous of being told to jump off the ship, or being forced into the exam. The kid looked back to me and waved to come on. It was that gesture that finally made me move forward. I followed the other three up a few flights of stairs and we finally reached the helm. The others were standing in a line and the captain was looking at them with a look that oozed judgement.  
"What are your names?" He started. I looked at him and then the other three. The kid was the first to speak.  
"My name is Gon!" He raised his hand to indicate himself. The blond boy spoke next to my surprise.  
"I'm Kurapika." He said with a sense of annoyance in his voice.  
"It's Leorio." The older one said, even more annoyed. They turned their attention to me and I looked down. I was never good at being on the spot.  
"Uh, Akarui." I clasped my hands together and waited for any response. Any break to the silence.  
"Now why do you all want to become hunters?" My head snapped up. So he doesn't know.  
"Hey! You're not an examiner! We don't have to tell you anything!" Leorio shouted at the captain.  
"Just answer the question!" The captain snapped back.  
"My dad was a Hunter! Being a Hunter is the most important thing in the world to my dad and I wanna see why! That's why I left Whale Island!" Gon said quickly. The captain looked shocked.  
"Kid you don't have to tell him anything!" Leorio shouted again.  
"Well it's not a secret." Gon looked confused.  
"It's us versus him! He has no right to know!" Leorio said.  
"I'm afraid I agree with Leorio." Kurapika had his head down and eyes closed.  
"That's Mr. Leorio to you, brat! Show some respect!"  
"But why not dodge the question with a plausible lie?" He ignored Leorio's screaming about respect and continued. "However, it is shameful to rely on deceit. As for me, I cannot reveal my reasons for being here." He put his hand on his chest. "I have my share of secrets, deep secrets which I cannot reveal at this time. That is why I will not answer your question." I looked to the captain who seemed a bit peeved. He looked back to me.  
"And what of you? Why do you want to be a hunter?" I scratched my head and laughed nervously.  
"Well I want to be a hunter so I can, uh," I struggled to make a lie. "I want to improve the ecosystem." It wasn't a complete lie, but it should get me where I need to be.  
"Very well. You two, Gon and Akarui, you pass to the exams. I will send word that we have two more dropouts. Since I am the one who thins the herd for the exam proctors." He turned back around and Kurapika and Leorio began to panic.  
"If you would have told us that sooner, we would have answered your questions!" Leorio shouted. "I want to be a hunter for money. Money makes the world go 'round and I want tons of it!" He smirked to himself.  
"How deplorable." Kurapika scoffed. Leorio began to shout at him again. "I want to be a hunter to avenge my clan. I am the last surviving member of the Kurta clan. I will become a Hunter, reclaim my clan's eyes, and Kill the Phantom Troupe." He left us all in a stunned silence.  
"Very well then. It seems as though I won't be sending word after all. Leorio and Kurapika began to argue amongst themselves and left the room. The captain was about to go after them when Gon stopped him.  
"Aunt Mito said you can learn a lot about someone based on what makes them angry. Let them fight. We can't stop them anyway." The captain stared at the boy in awe when a sailor that was at the wheel pointed at a water spout. He began to speak quickly and the captain cut him off to give orders.  
"Get the sails lowered! Now!"  
"Anything I can do?" Gon asked. Katzo was the one to speak up.  
"Yea follow me to the deck!" The two ran out. I was paralyzed with fear. A giant whirlpool to my death? I can't fight that. My feet eventually went in their own direction and I began to follow Katzo and Gon. I guess my body knew what to do before my mind did.  
I saw that they were pulling on ropes and I joined in. My entire body was soaked to the bone within seconds and my mind was blank from fear. I barely realized what I was doing when I heard a scream and saw a man tumble off the boat. Once again my feet moved faster than my mind and I felt myself jump, glide through the air, and tumble over the side of the ship. I reached for the man's torso and as I grabbed on I felt hands grab my feet. The seconds that I was being pulled up felt like hours as my body was slowly freezing in the water. I was too busy holding the man above water to notice that I was under myself. The moment I broke the surface I gasped and saw that Gon had my feet, and Leorio and Kurapika had each of his. When I finally hit the deck I saw that the waterspout was behind us and a mass of land was on the horizon. The chill in my body took all joy away when I began to shake.  
"What is wrong with you two! You're so reckless!" Kurapika began to belt at us.  
"What if we hadn't caught you?" Leorio followed.  
"But you did catch us. We're ok!" Gon had a smile on his face.  
"Cold." Was all I managed to get out before they all picked me up and brought me below deck to warm up. They put Katzo and I down on the floor and Gon came running in with a blanket.  
"I hope you don't mind. I could only find one. But it will go over both of you!" When neither of us responded they just put the blanket over us both and I almost instantly felt a difference. My clothes were wet but my body warmed them up quickly.  
"Th-thank you for saving me." Katzo stuttered out. "I can must-see why you can become hunt-ters." He looked to me and Gon. "You didn't even th-think. You just jumped." I looked at Gon in shock. And all I saw was him smiling at me. Leorio and Kurapika began to apologize to one another for the things that they said and how they acted while I was still in awe of being thanked.  
"It's no big deal. I promise. My body acted before I thought, that's all." He looked to me and shook his head.  
"You thought. Maybe not purposefully, but your instinct was right. That's what will make you an awesome hunter." I looked straight and actually began contemplating this Hunter thing.  
"Could I actually be a Hunter?" Everyone looked at me when I thought out loud.  
"From what I saw kid, you have the guts." Leorio said.  
"And your moral compass is right." Kurapika pitched in.  
"And you seem really strong to me. You won't have a problem!" Gon's smile grew as if he knew I would come to this decision all along.  
"You will become a Hunter, and you will help even more people like me." Katzo said. He stood up, even though he was still damp. "I better get back to work. We are almost there by now and.." he was cut off when we felt the ship halt. "I really have to get going!" His face was filled with panic and he launched out the room. I stood up too and stretched. My entire body was still cold but the air had warmed up since the storm so the bitter chill wasn't so bitter anymore. We all made our way to the upper deck and saw plenty of dejected faces file off the ship. The three boys I was with began to file off as well and I decided to follow suit, waving at Katzo. It wasn't until I was the last one on the ship that I realized I forgot my backpack.  
"Give me one second Captain! My backpack!" I ran back to where I was, saw the damp blanket, and in the opposite corner of the room I saw my plain grey backpack on the ground. I snatched it up and made my way back to the upper deck. I finally passed the captain and was off the boat when I heard his voice call me and Gon.  
"You two made my trip here entertaining, and that's what I do this for, so let me tell you a secret. Don't follow instructions blindly. Go to the old cedar on top of the mountain. That's your way to the exam."  
"Thank you so much!" I said to him and shook his hand.  
"Thanks Captain!" Gon said, his regular smile still adorning his face. We began to walk off when he called us again.  
"Girl, you must only be 21 or 22, don't go forgetting stuff that easily like you did with your backpack or the exam may be harder than it needs to be."  
"Oh, I'm actually only 16, but thanks for the warning!" I smiled and waved to him, trying not to laugh at his expression when he heard my real age.  
"Come on Gon, I'm ready to become a hunter." I walked towards where Leorio and Kurapika were standing by a map.  
They were talking about where to go next and I broke the news to them as to where the captain said to go next.  
“The cedar tree? That isn’t the instructions that were given though.” Leorio said, a bit peeved.  
“Well the captain suggested it for a reason, so that’s where I’m gonna go.” Gon said.  
“Hey! Kurapika, talk some sense into them!”  
“I think I’m going to follow Gon and Akarui this time. I’m curious to see where this goes.” Kurapika turned to us and nodded.  
“Fine you guys can miss the bus then. Be a bunch of sheep. I like you but I’m not gonna fail for ya’.” Leorio walked off in a huff and the three of us began in the opposite direction.  
“Rui.”  
“Huh?” They both said simultaneously.  
“Call me Rui.” I tossed them a small smile and they both threw one back.  
“Alright, Rui.” Kurapika said happily.  
We had been walking for about five minutes when we heard a yelling behind us. We turned to see Leorio running at full speed to us waving his briefcase.  
“Wait up!”  
“He probably found out about the bus.” I said to the two boys next to me. He finally caught up to us and began making excuses as to why he came back.  
“I thought you guys would be lonely without me. None of you know how to start a conversation so I know you would be lost without me.” He shrugged and I put my hand on my hip.  
“Silence isn’t a bad thing Leorio. I thought you didn’t wanna fail on our account?”  
“Well I decided friendship is more important than the exam.”  
“Bullshit. You wouldn’t turn down money” I continued walking and snickered to myself. The others followed suit while Leorio mumbled something about elders behind us and began walking too.  
***  
It had been about two hours of walking when we got to a small town. I noticed a person following us about thirty minutes into the trip and I think Gon did too. While I used my aura, I didn’t feel Gon’s aura so I’m pretty sure he wasn’t using his. I was focused on what our stalker was doing when Leorio spoke up.  
“There isn’t a single person here.” Leorio pointed out.  
“Yes there is.” I said.  
“There’s plenty.” Gon said quickly after.  
Soon a mass of people came out of a side door and so did an old woman. They set up what looked like a play and the old woman sat in the middle of it. They all has different weird objects. We walked up to the stage and the old woman began.  
“Exciting…” She said.  
“Exciting?” Leorio echoed.  
“Exciting.” She repeated.  
“Exciting.” Leorio mumbled.  
“Exciting two choice quiz!” she yelled at us. Everyone behind her began to play their instruments. We all stood there shocked and waited for the music to end.  
“You all are headed for the tree on the hill, right? To reach that tree you must pass through this town. You must answer a single question quiz, administered by me.”  
“Hold on!” Leorio began again. “What’s going on here?”  
“You have five seconds to answer. If you give the wrong answer, you’re disqualified. You will have to give up on taking this year’s hunter exam.” She looked bored.  
“I see.” Kurapika whispered. “Then this is part of the Hunter Exam.”  
“Then that’s how it is.” Leorio put his briefcase down. “I happen to be a quiz expert.” He snapped his head to the woman. “Wait? Only one question?”  
“You will answer with one or two only. Any other answer would be counted wrong and you will be disqualified.”  
“Hold on, we all share the same question?” Leorio asked. “So if one of them answers wrong am I disqualified too?”  
“As if that would happen!” Kurapika crossed his arms indignantly. “What scares me is if the opposite happened.”  
“What was that?” Leorio growled.  
“Well you know. This way is easier! Because only one of us needs to know the right answer!” Gon said happily. “I’m not good at quizzes.”  
“He has a point guys.” I said, tired of their arguing.  
“Hey there! Hurry it up!” A voice came from behind us. “I should just answer the question first.”  
“So our stalker decides to show his face.” I crossed my arms and smirked. His smug face faltered at the knowledge that he was found out; however his facade quicky went back up.  
“Sorry kid. I overheard your conversation at the port.” He shrugged and Leorio looked beyond confused.  
“So what will you do?” The old woman asked impatiently.  
“Go on stalker.” I said.  
“He seems eager enough. Then we will know what to expect” Leorio echoed my decision. A man came out with a pedestal and sat it in front of the stalker.  
“Let’s begin then. Here is your question.” One man honked a horn and a crow cawed. “Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one. Select one for your mother, or two for your lover. Which will you save?” We were all caught off guard.  
“How is this even a quiz?” Leorio asked. Kurapika and I began to think while Leorio’s blood began to boil. The stalker just smiled and almost instantly answered.  
“The answer is one.”  
“And why do you say that?”  
“Because you can’t replace your mother. If your lover dies you can just find another.” The crow caws again.  
“You may pass.”  
“What?” Leorio screams.  
“You just have to tell the lady what she wants to hear.” The man passed the stage and took off to the tree.  
“That’s bull! How was that the right answer? We’re supposed to give her the answer she wants? And that’s correct? I’m not gonna put up with this sham!” Leorio yelled.  
“Then go home.” I said to him. “This isn’t meant to be easy. You want to be a Hunter? Stop complaining about things you can’t control.” They all looked at me in awe. I turned to the old woman.  
“There is no right answer to the question though.” He said defeated. That’s when something clicked in Kurapika’s head.  
“Leorio!”  
“No more talking! Say anything but the answer and you’re immediately disqualified.” Kurapika looked to Leorio and back to the woman. “Here’s your question. Your son and daughter have both been kidnapped. You can only save one. Select one for your son or two for your daughter. Who do you save?”  
Leorio began to shake as the old woman began her countdown. Kurapika had his eyes closed, but he wasn’t thinking. Did he have his answer? Gon was thinking too hard and was sweating bullets. I knew what my answer was but it wasn’t an option. I noticed Leorio picking up a wooden plank from a trash pile and saw that his face was contorted in pure rage. He practiced swinging it a few times. She reached one and suddenly I saw Leorio lunge for the woman. Kurapika stepped in front of the woman to block her but before Leorio could get far, he tripped on a root that wasn’t there before. He fell face first onto the ground with a thud and a groan. Gon hadn’t even moved through the whole ordeal. Kurapika ran to help Leorio up.  
“Calm down Leorio.”  
“How am I supposed to calm down?”  
“You’ll waste our correct response!” Leorio looked dumbfounded.  
“What?”  
“We gave the correct response, silence.”  
“Silence? What do you mean?”  
“You hit the nail on the head, there was no correct response. But because we could only respond with one or two, we had to respond with silence.”  
“What about the other guy?”  
“She never said that he got the right answer, just that he could pass. That’s because that is the wrong path.” The old woman smiled.  
“Precisely. The correct path is over here. It leads directly to the tree. Walk for two hours and you will reach the top. A couple live in the cabin under the tree. They serve as navigators. If you can meet their standards they will lead you to the exam site.” Leorio dropped the stick.  
“Gran, I am so sorry for my rudeness.”  
“Don’t be. I don’t mind. I do this because I like meeting people like you. Do your best to become a good hunter.” She smiled at Leorio.  
I turned my attention to Gon who was still thinking.  
“Gon, we passed, you don’t have to keep thinking about it.” He fell on his butt and looked at me.  
“I know but what if this actually happens? How will I know who to choose?” He groaned.  
“You’re right and we can contemplate that while we are on our way to the tree.” I held out a hand for him and helped him up. We passed the old woman and both waved bye to her. We caught up to Leorio and Kurapika and we all made our way to the cabin.  
***  
“She said travel for two hours. It was two hours, two hours ago.” Leorio stopped for a break while we all walked on. It was only a few steps further than where he stopped that we saw the cabin. It was a simple wooden home, what you would expect from a cabin in the woods.  
“If you would have just walked a bit farther you would have found what you were looking for.” I held out my hand in the direction of the structure. Leorio rushed over and Joy spread across his face. “Such a simple being.” I walked up to the steps and knocked on the door.  
“Hello? We are the ones that want to take the hunter exam. We heard that you are the navigators. If you would please let us in.” I said and knocked on the door again. I listened for a second and heard a small plea for help and instantly barged in. The entirety of the place was in shambles, tables on the floor, vases in pieces, and the worst was an injured man lying on the floor in visible pain.  
“Oh my God!” I ran to his side and began to look at his wounds. Leorio quickly ran to my side too.  
“My wife. She was taken by monsters. Please get her back.” I looked at Kurapika and Gon while Leorio opened his briefcase.  
“Guys, go. Leorio and I have this under control here.” They nodded and jumped out the busted window behind us. I looked down to the man and he was wincing as Leorio cut his shirt off. “Let me see the wound.” He moved aside and let me see.  
“It’s ok sir. They will find your wife. They will make sure she is safe, I know they will. And while they do that we will make sure you are safe as well.” I began to analyze the wound and I noticed just how bad it really is.  
“Leorio, if you can sterilize it, I can handle the rest.” He looked at me in confusion. “Please trust me.”  
“Ok, move aside so I can get to work.” I scooted over a bit and watched Leorio get to work. As he poured alcohol on a rag, I grabbed the man’s hand.  
“This may hurt sir, but I promise it will help you.” Leorio said as he began to wipe away the blood and dirt that was caked onto the wound. After five minutes of cleaning the wound with alcohol and applying antiseptics, Leorio moved over to let me work.  
“Sir, I’m going to warn you that this will burn, but I promise it will help.” I put my hands over the wound and soon a heavy glow began coming from my hands. Leorio gasped and the man under my hands groaned. I held the glow for thirty seconds when I noticed that nothing was changing in the wound. I looked to Leorio and I struggled to get his attention away from my hands. I made sure the man wasn’t looking and I leaned down to catch his eye. He looked at me confused and I looked at the man, back to Leorio, raised my eyebrows, and shook my head. I think he got the idea because he backed up a bit and pulled out his knife quietly.  
“Now that we know your wound isn’t a real wound, would you like to tell us what’s really going on?” I stood up and backed away from him. The man began to laugh and stood up.  
“How did you know?” He turned to us and I could see his face clearly now. He looked maybe seventeen, not old enough to marry in this area.  
“First of all, you don’t look old enough to marry, but I couldn’t go off of just that. What really tipped me off was the fact that my healing aura didn’t work on your wound. The only time my aura doesn’t work is when the person is dead, or the wound doesn’t exist in the first place.”  
“Very well done! You aren’t even a hunter and you’ve already been trained in using your nen!” He clapped.  
“Nen? No, that was my aura. And I didn’t train for it, I just did it one day.”  
“You don’t know what Nen is? And you didn’t train in it?” He asked.  
“No and No.”  
“Your aura that you use is actually your life energy, or Nen if you will. Everyone has Nen, but not everyone can use it.” He said.  
“So wait I can do that healing thing too?” Leorio said.  
“Well, no. It all depends on your Nen type. It seems to me like she is a specialist, that’s why she can do what she can do.” Leorio was about to ask another question when Gon and Kurapika came back. They were flying with three rat, fox, beasts.  
“You guys are ok!” I said quickly.  
“Yea, turns out these guys are just examiners too.” Gon said to us.  
“Yea, we figured that out too.” Leorio said as if he was the one to connect the dots.  
“Now to pass our judgement.” One of the beasts said.  
“As you know, we determine if you get to take the test or not.” The young girl put in. “Kurapika, with the very little information given, you were able to determine that I was lying. You saw just a glance of the chasity marking of the people in this area and immediately knew that I wasn’t who I said I was. Your skills of deduction have earned you a place in the Hunter exams.” We all cheered for him and then the young man began to speak.  
“Leorio, unfortunately you did not realize I wasn’t who I said I was on your own. But your ability to quickly jump to action, intense medical knowledge, and compassion throughout the whole ordeal has earned you a place at the Hunter exams.” Leorio fell back in relief and Gon gave him a fist bump. One of the beasts began to speak on Gon’s behalf.  
“Gon, you have superhuman strength, speed, and senses. You were able to easily tell the difference between my wife and I. You act calmly under pressure, and this has earned you a place at the Hunter exams.” Gon fist bumped both Kurapika and Leorio and his smile grew ten-fold.  
“Akarui, your compassion, quick thinking, and Nen mastery with no training is incredible and well needed for any Hunter. These traits have earned you a place at the Hunter exams.” I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.  
“We all made it!” Gon shouted.  
“If you would please grab onto our legs, we will bring you to the destination of the exams.” The two younger people began to morph into the magical beasts and they all started flying. I grabbed onto the young boy’s legs, Gon grabbed onto the young boy’s legs, Kurapika onto the wife, and Leorio onto the husband. We took flight.  
“Isn’t it great that we all passed?” Gon said happily.  
“Don’t celebrate yet, we’ve merely earned the right to take the test.” Kurapika said.  
“What’s wrong with celebrating a little? We’re making progress!” Leorio said proudly.  
“I agree, baby steps. That’s all we can do.” I smiled to the rest of them and we began our flight into the next chapter of our exam.


End file.
